Technology for detecting onboard sensor tampering

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods detecting onboard sensor tampering are disclosed. According to embodiments, data captured by interior sensors within a vehicle may be analyzed to determine an indication that the activity of the vehicle operator either cannot be sufficiently detected or cannot be sufficiently identified using the captured data (e.g., that the captured data may be compromised). A date and time associated with the indication may be recorded, and a vehicle operator associated with the indication may be identified. A possible cause for the compromised data may be diagnosed, and notification may be generated indicating that the activity of the vehicle operator either cannot be sufficiently detected or cannot be sufficiently identified, and/or the possible cause. Additionally, a recommendation for restoring sensor functionality may be generated for the vehicle operator based the possible cause.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to technology for detectingonboard sensor tampering. More particularly, the present disclosure isdirected to systems and methods for analyzing sensor data to determinethat a sensor has been abused, tampered with, or otherwise compromised.

BACKGROUND

Individuals have been operating vehicles as a means of transportationfor decades. Recently, vehicles have been equipped with certaincomputing components and devices. As vehicles incorporate more sensors,devices, and communication capabilities, it is increasingly easier tocollect and analyze vehicle sensor data for various purposes. However,these sensors may sometimes be tampered with, abused, misused, orotherwise rendered inoperable. Due to such tampering or misuse, capturedsensor data may be compromised and may yield inaccurate results, whichmay frustrate collection and analysis of data.

SUMMARY

A computer-implemented method in an electronic device for identifyinginterior vehicle sensor tampering is provided. The method may includereceiving data captured by one or more interior sensors within avehicle, analyzing, by a processor configured to detect and identify anactivity of a vehicle operator, the data captured by the one or moreinterior sensors to determine an indication that the activity of thevehicle operator either cannot be sufficiently detected or cannot besufficiently identified using the data captured by the one or moreinterior sensors, recording a date and time associated with theindication that the activity of the vehicle operator either cannot besufficiently detected or cannot be sufficiently identified, identifying,by the processor, a vehicle operator associated with the indication thatthe activity of the vehicle operator either cannot be sufficientlydetected or cannot be sufficiently identified, diagnosing, by theprocessor, a possible cause of the indication that the activity of thevehicle operator either cannot be sufficiently detected or cannot besufficiently identified, generating one or more of a notification thatthe activity of the vehicle operator cannot be sufficiently detected orsufficiently identified, or a notification indicating the possiblecause, generating an indication for the vehicle operator based on thepossible cause, and transmitting a log of one or more of the indicationthat the activity of the vehicle operator either cannot be sufficientlydetected or cannot be sufficiently identified, the date and time, theidentity of the vehicle operator, or the possible cause.

In another aspect, an electronic device configured to identify interiorvehicle sensor tampering is provided. The electronic device may includea transceiver configured to communicate data via at least one networkconnection, a memory configured to store non-transitory computerexecutable instructions, a processor configured to interface with thetransceiver and the memory, and configured to execute the non-transitorycomputer executable instructions. The non-transitory computer-executableinstructions may cause the processor to receive data captured by one ormore interior sensors within a vehicle, analyze the data captured by theone or more interior sensors to determine an indication that theactivity of the vehicle operator either cannot be sufficiently detectedor cannot be sufficiently identified using the data captured by the oneor more interior sensors, record a date and time associated with theindication that the activity of the vehicle operator either cannot besufficiently detected or cannot be sufficiently identified, identify avehicle operator associated with the indication that the activity of thevehicle operator either cannot be sufficiently detected or cannot besufficiently identified, diagnose a possible cause of the indicationthat the activity of the vehicle operator either cannot be sufficientlydetected or cannot be sufficiently identified, generate one or more of anotification that the activity of the vehicle operator either cannot besufficiently detected or cannot be sufficiently identified, or anotification indicating the possible cause, generate an indication forthe vehicle operator based on the possible cause, and transmit a log ofone or more of the indication that the activity of the vehicle operatoreither cannot be sufficiently detected or cannot be sufficientlyidentified, the date and time, the identity of the vehicle operator, orthe possible cause.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B depict example environments within a vehicle includingvarious components configured to facilitate various functionalities, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 1C depicts an example environment including vehicles and variouscomponents configured to facilitate various functionalities, inaccordance with embodiments.

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary signal diagram associated with technologyfor detecting onboard sensor tampering, in accordance with someembodiments.

FIGS. 3A and 3B depict user interfaces associated with examplenotifications and visualizations, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary flow diagram associated with technology fordetecting onboard sensor tampering, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 5 depicts a block diagram of an exemplary electronic device, inaccordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present embodiments may relate to, inter alia, technology fordetecting onboard sensor tampering in a vehicle. According to certainaspects, systems and methods may receive data captured by one or moreinterior sensors within a vehicle and analyze the captured data todetermine an indication that an activity (e.g., a behavior, movement, orgesture) of a vehicle operator (e.g., an automobile operator) eithercannot be sufficiently detected or cannot be sufficiently identifiedusing the data captured by the one or more interior sensors (e.g., thatthe sensor data is compromised in some way). Based on the indication ofcompromised data, a possible cause for the compromised data may bedetermined, and a notification may be generated alerting a vehicleoperator that the sensor data may be compromised, a possible cause,and/or an indication of steps to take to restore sensor capabilities inthe vehicle (e.g., a recommendation).

The systems and methods therefore offer numerous benefits. Inparticular, the systems and methods effectively and efficientlydetermine that data captured by onboard sensors is compromised in someway, and provide indications, including possible causes, to the vehicleoperator accordingly. These indications may be recommendations that mayhelp a vehicle operator to realize, for instance, that an onboard sensoris blocked, or that an onboard sensor is broken. Thus, the operator maycorrect the problem and sensor capabilities may be restored. Inembodiments, notifications and recommendations may be generated in realtime, as soon as an indication of compromised data has been identified,allowing an operator to make corrections and restore sensor capabilitiesquickly and reducing the time in which sensor data may be compromised.It should be appreciated that other benefits are envisioned.

The systems and methods discussed herein address a challenge that isparticular to vehicle operation. In particular, the challenge relates tomaintaining the integrity of vehicle operator behavior data captured byinterior vehicle sensors. For instance, interior vehicle sensors may beblocked by objects in the vehicle, or may be tampered with by vehicleoperators or passengers. Using conventional methods, such blocking ortampering might go unnoticed by vehicle operators and other stakeholders(e.g., family members, insurance providers, etc.) for a long time.Compromised data may yield inaccurate results that might, for instance,skew the application of insurance policies, premiums, discounts, etc.that are based on the captured data. The systems and methods offerimproved capabilities to solve these problems by dynamically receivingand analyzing interior sensor data to determine that the activity orbehavior of the vehicle operator either cannot be sufficiently detectedor cannot be sufficiently identified, and by generating andcommunicating notifications and indications of recommendations to thevehicle operator based on possible causes for a given indication ofcompromised data. Accordingly, vehicle operators following theinstructions of the generated recommendations may restore sensorfunctionality. Further, because the systems and methods employ thecollection, analysis, and transmission of data associated with vehicles,the systems and methods are necessarily rooted in computer technology inorder to overcome the noted shortcomings that specifically arise in therealm of vehicle operation.

Similarly, the systems and methods provide improvements in a technicalfield, namely, vehicle data compiling. Instead of the systems andmethods merely being performed by hardware components using basicfunctions, the systems and methods employ complex steps that go beyondthe mere concept of simply retrieving and combining data using acomputer. In particular, the hardware components capture interiorvehicle sensor data, analyze the data to determine that the activity orbehavior of a vehicle operator either cannot be sufficiently detected orcannot be sufficiently identified, diagnose a possible cause for thecompromised data, and generate and display notifications andrecommendations, among other functionalities.

According to implementations, the systems and methods may support adynamic, real-time or near-real-time analysis of any captured, received,and/or detected data. In particular, the electronic device may receiveor capture vehicle interior sensor data in real-time or near real-time,and may automatically and dynamically analyze the captured data. Theelectronic device may also automatically and dynamically generate andcommunicate relevant notifications in real-time or near-real-time. Inthis regard, any individual who receives a notification is afforded thebenefit of accurate and relevant data, and may, for instance, quicklyact on a recommendation to restore sensor functionality.

FIG. 1A illustrates an example depiction of an interior of a vehicle 100that may include various components associated with the systems andmethods. It will be understood that the vehicle 101 may be any type ofvehicle, such as, for example, an automobile, bus, truck, motorcycle,all-terrain vehicle, snowmobile, jet ski, golf cart, boat, or aircraft,or any other type of vehicle. In some scenarios, an individual 102(e.g., a vehicle operator) may operate (i.e., drive) the vehicle 100.Although the individual 102 is depicted as sitting in the driver's seatof the vehicle 100 and operating the vehicle 100, it should beappreciated that the individual 102 may be a passenger of the vehicle,and may sit in a front passenger seat or any of a set of rear passengerseats. In scenarios in which the individual 102 is a passenger of thevehicle 100, another individual may operate the vehicle 100.

As depicted in FIG. 1A, the interior of the vehicle 100 may support aset of image sensors 105, 106, 107. In the particular scenario depictedin FIG. 1A, each of the image sensors 105, 107 is located near a topcorner of the interior of the vehicle 100, and the image sensor 106 islocated below a rear view mirror. Although three (3) image sensors aredepicted in FIG. 1A, it should be appreciated that additional or fewerimage sensors are envisioned. Further, it should be appreciated that theimage sensors 105, 106, 107 may be disposed or located at variousalternate or additional portions of the vehicle 100, including on anexterior of the vehicle 100.

Each of the image sensors 105, 106, 107 may be configured to detect andconvey information that constitutes an image. In particular, each of theimage sensors 105, 106, 107 may generate digital image data according tothe detected information, where the digital image data may be in theform of image data and/or video data. Although not depicted in FIG. 1A,the vehicle 100 may also include one or more microphones that may bedisposed in one or more locations, where the microphones may beconfigured to capture audio data that may supplement the digital imagedata captured by the image sensors 105, 106, 107.

The vehicle 100 may also be configured with an electronic device 110configured with any combination of software and hardware components. Insome implementations, the electronic device 110 may be included as partof an on-board diagnostic (OBD) system or any other type of systemconfigured to be installed in the vehicle 100, such as an originalequipment manufacturer (OEM) system. The electronic device 110 mayinclude a set of sensors configured to detect and record varioustelematics data associated with the vehicle 100. In someimplementations, the electronic device 110 may be configured tocommunicate with (i.e., request, retrieve, or receive data from) a setof sensors disposed in other locations of the vehicle 100, such as eachof the image sensors 105, 106, 107. Further, in some implementations,the electronic device 110 itself may be equipped with one or more imagesensors.

According to embodiments, the set of sensors included in the electronicdevice 110 or otherwise configured to communicate with the electronicdevice 110 may be of various types. For example, the set of sensors mayinclude at least one of: a location module (e.g., a global positioningsystem (GPS) chip), image sensor, thermometer, electromagnetic radiationsensor, accelerometer, gyrosensor, force sensor, strain gauge,inclinometer, goniometer, ignition sensor, clock, speedometer, torquesensor, throttle position sensor, gyroscope, compass, yaw rate sensor,tilt sensor, steering angle sensor, brake sensor, and/or other sensors.

FIG. 1B depicts another configuration of an interior of the vehicle 100that may include various components associated with the systems andmethods. Similar to the depiction of FIG. 1A, the depiction of FIG. 1Billustrates the individual 102 who may be an operator or passenger ofthe vehicle. The individual 102 may access and interface with anelectronic device 115 that may be located within the vehicle 100.Although FIG. 1B depicts the individual 102 holding the electronicdevice 115, it should be appreciated that the electronic device 115 maybe located within the vehicle 100 without the individual 102 contactingthe electronic device 115. For example, the electronic device 115 may besecured within a mount.

According to embodiments, the electronic device 115 may be any type ofelectronic device such as a mobile device (e.g., a smartphone). Itshould be appreciated that other types of electronic devices and/ormobile devices are envisioned, such as notebook computers, tablets,phablets, GPS (Global Positioning System) or GPS-enabled devices, smartwatches, smart glasses, smart bracelets, wearable electronics, PDAs(personal digital assistants), pagers, computing devices configured forwireless communication, and/or the like. The electronic device 115 maybe configured with at least one image sensor 120 configured to capturedigital image data, as discussed herein. The electronic device 115 mayfurther include additional sensors, such as a clock, accelerometer,location module (e.g., GPS chip), gyroscope, and/or other types ofsensors.

In some implementations, the electronic device 115 may be configured tointerface with additional components of the vehicle 100. In particular,the electronic device 115 may interface with the electronic device 110and sensors thereof, any of the image sensors 105, 106, 107, and/orother components of the vehicle 100, such as any additional sensors thatmay be disposed within the vehicle 100. Further, although not depictedin FIG. 1A or 1B, the vehicle 100 and/or each of the electronic devices110, 115 may be equipped with storage or memory capable of storingvarious data.

In operation, either of the electronic devices 110, 115 may beconfigured to receive or otherwise access image data captured by anycombination of the image sensors 105, 106, 107, 120. The electronicdevices 110, 115 may access user profile data that may be stored in thestorage or memory, and may compare the received image data to the userprofile data to identify the individual 102 who may be depicted in theimage data. Additionally or alternatively, the electronic devices 110,115 may analyze the image data to detect any movements made by theindividual 102 that may be depicted in the image data, as well asdetermine or ascertain a state of the individual 102. Further, theelectronic devices 110, 115 may further interface with the varioussensors or other components to assess real-time environmental parametersassociated with operation of the vehicle 100 (e.g., speed, location,route information, current time, current date).

FIG. 1C illustrates a system 150 that includes a set of vehicles 152,154. Although FIG. 1C depicts two (2) vehicles 152 and 154, it should beappreciated that fewer or additional vehicles are envisioned. Thevehicle 152 may be configured or equipped with a set of electronicdevices 156, 160, and the vehicle 154 may be configured or equipped witha set of electronic devices 158, 162. The electronic devices 156, 158,160, 162 may be integrated within the respective vehicles 152 and 154 ormay be separate from (but located within or in proximity to) therespective vehicles 152 and 154.

In some implementations, the electronic devices 160 and 162 may beincluded as part of an on-board diagnostic (OBD) system or any othertype of system configured to be installed in the respective vehicle 152and 154, such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) system. Theelectronic devices 160 and 162 may include a set of sensors configuredto detect and record various telematics data associated with operationof the respective vehicles 152 and 154. In some implementations, theelectronic devices 160 and 162 may be configured to communicate with(i.e., request, retrieve, and/or receive data from) a set of sensorsdisposed in other locations of the respective vehicles 152 and 154.

Further, in some implementations, the electronic devices 156 and 158 maybe any type of electronic device such as a mobile device. For example,the electronic devices 156 and 158 may be smartphones associated withrespective operators of the respective vehicles 152 and 154. It shouldbe appreciated that other types of electronic devices and/or mobiledevices are envisioned, such as notebook computers, tablets, phablets,GPS (Global Positioning System) or GPS-enabled devices, smart watches,smart glasses, smart bracelets, wearable electronics, PDAs (personaldigital assistants), pagers, computing devices configured for wirelesscommunication, and/or the like. The electronic devices 156 and 158 maybe configured to communicate and interface with the respectiveelectronic devices 160 and 162. Further, although not depicted in FIG.1C, the vehicles 152 and 154 and/or each of the electronic devices 156,158, 160, 162 may be equipped with storage or memory capable of storingvarious data.

According to embodiments, the set of sensors included in any or all ofthe electronic devices 156, 158, 160, 162 or otherwise configured tocommunicate with any or all of the electronic devices 156, 158, 160, 162may be of various types. For example, the set of sensors may include atleast one of: a location module (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS)chip), image sensor, accelerometer, gyrosensor, force sensor, straingauge, inclinometer, goniometer, ignition sensor, clock, speedometer,torque sensor, throttle position sensor, gyroscope, compass, yaw ratesensor, tilt sensor, steering angle sensor, brake sensor, and/or othersensors. The set of sensors may also be configured to detect variousconditions of the vehicle operators, including various biometricinformation, movements, and/or the like.

Each of the electronic devices 156, 158, 160, 162 may be configured tocommunicate with at least one remote server 166 via one or more networks164. It should be appreciated that various amounts of the remoteserver(s) 166 are envisioned. According to embodiments, the remoteserver(s) 166 may store data (i.e., may serve as a central repository)and/or exchange data with the electronic devices 156, 158, 160, 162. Forexample, the remote server 166 may store data or information associatedwith a set of locations, and may provide the data or information to theelectronic devices 156, 158, 160, 162. The remote server 166 may alsoinclude logic or processing capabilities that may instruct theelectronic devices 156, 158, 160, 162 to perform certain actions. Thenetwork(s) 164 may support any type of data communication via anystandard or technology (e.g., GSM, CDMA, TDMA, WCDMA, LTE, EDGE, OFDM,GPRS, EV-DO, UWB, Internet, IEEE 802 including Ethernet, WiMAX, Wi-Fi,Bluetooth, and others). The network(s) 164 may also be one or moreprivate or local networks or dedicated frequency bands. The network(s)164 may enable the electronic devices 156, 158, 160, 162 and the remoteserver(s) 166 to communicate among each other in real-time or near-realtime.

The remote server 166 may interface with a database 168 or other memory,which may include one or more forms of volatile and/or non-volatile,fixed and/or removable memory, such as read-only memory (ROM),electronic programmable read-only memory (EPROM), random access memory(RAM), erasable electronic programmable read-only memory (EEPROM),and/or other hard drives, flash memory, MicroSD cards, and others.According to embodiments, the database 168 may store various types ofdata received from the electronic devices 156, 158, 160, 162 via thenetwork(s) 164. Further, in embodiments, the database 168 may storeadditional information received from the server 166 or from one or moreadditional servers (not shown in FIG. 1C).

In a particular implementation, one or more of the electronic devices156, 158, 160, 162 associated with the vehicles 152 and 154 mayaccumulate or record telematics data during operation of the vehicles152 and 154, and transmit the telematics data, via the network(s) 164,to the server(s) 166 for storage on the database 168. The telematicsdata may indicate, among other data, respective locations of thevehicles 152 and 154 (i.e., the locations of the vehicles 152 and 154when the telematics data was accumulated or recorded).

FIG. 2 depicts a signal diagram 200 associated with facilitating certainfunctionalities of the systems and methods. The signal diagram 200includes vehicle interior sensors 202, an electronic device 204, and atleast one server 206. According to embodiments, the electronic device204 may be located within a vehicle. Further, the electronic device 204may be equipped with or configured to communicate with the vehicleinterior sensors 202. Additionally, the electronic device 204 may beconfigured to communicate with the at least one server 206. It should beappreciated that additional or alternative components and devices areenvisioned.

The signal diagram 200 may begin when the electronic device 204optionally requests (208) sensor data from the interior sensors 202.According to embodiments, the electronic device 204 may automaticallyrequest the sensor data periodically (e.g., once every ten seconds, onceevery minute, once every hour), or a user of the electronic device 204may cause the electronic device 204 to request the sensor data. Further,the request may include a specified amount of sensor data and/or aspecific time component (e.g., real-time sensor data and/or sensor datadetected five minutes ago). It should be appreciated that the interiorsensors 202 may be internal to or external from the electronic device204.

The interior sensors 202 may capture (210) sensor data. The interiorsensors 202 may be, for example, image sensors, temperature sensors,electromagnetic radiation sensors, sound sensors, acceleration sensors,velocity sensors, or any other type of suitable interior vehicle sensor.The interior sensors 202 may accordingly capture data, e.g., image data,temperature data, electromagnetic radiation data, sound data,acceleration data, velocity data, etc. The interior sensors 202 may thensend (212) the captured data to the electronic device 204. In oneimplementation, the interior sensors 202 may automatically send thecaptured sensor data to the electronic device 204 in real-time or nearreal-time as the interior sensors 202 capture the sensor data, and/or inresponse to a request from the electronic device 204. In anotherimplementation, the interior sensors 202 may send previously-capturedinterior sensor data to the electronic device 204, such as if theinterior sensors 202 interface with some type of memory or storage. Itshould be appreciated that image data detected by the interior sensorsmay depict a vehicle operator or passenger.

The electronic device 204 may analyze (214) the sensor data to determine(216) an indication that an activity (e.g., a behavior, movement, orgesture) of the vehicle operator either cannot be sufficiently detectedor cannot be sufficiently identified using the data captured by the oneor more interior sensors 202 (e.g., an indication that the interiorsensor data is compromised). That is, the captured data may becompromised because an interior sensor 202 has been tampered with, isbroken, is obfuscated, is not receiving power, or any other reason, tobe discussed in greater detail below. For example, the electronic device204 may be configured to analyze the data captured by one or moreinterior image sensors 202 to detect and identify one or moreactivities/behaviors of a vehicle operator or passenger. The electronicdevice 204 may identify an indication that an activity of the vehicleoperator either cannot be sufficiently detected or cannot besufficiently identified using the data captured by the one or moreinterior sensors 202 based on anomalies in the captured data. Forinstance, a period of driving (e.g., 15 minutes) during which nooperator or passenger activity can be detected by an analysis ofcaptured image sensor data may indicate that the interior image sensordata is compromised. Similarly, a period of driving during which avehicle operator activity can be detected, but not sufficientlyidentified, by an analysis of sensor data may also indicate that theinterior sensor data is compromised. As another example, if an analysisof image data captured by an interior image sensor 202 indicates adecreased image resolution within the scope of the image sensor, theimage sensor may be compromised in some way.

Additionally, the electronic device 204 may determine an indication thatan activity or behavior of the vehicle operator either cannot besufficiently detected or cannot be sufficiently identified using thedata captured by the interior sensors 202 when a particularly hightemperature is captured by an interior sensor 202. For instance, when aninterior sensor 202 captures data indicating a temperature exceeding acertain threshold (e.g., a threshold for sensor functionality), the hightemperature may indicate that any other data captured by that interiorsensor 202 (e.g., captured image data that may be analyzed to detect andidentify vehicle operator activity/behavior) may be compromised. Inother examples, an unusually high or low level of electromagneticradiation captured by an interior sensor 202 may indicate that thesensor data is compromised (e.g., if the electromagnetic radiationdetected by an interior sensor 202 is above a certain high threshold, orbelow a certain low threshold, any other data detected by that sensormay be compromised.)

In some embodiments, the electronic device 204 may determinate anindication that an activity of the vehicle operator either cannot besufficiently detected or cannot be sufficiently identified using thedata captured by the one or more interior sensors 202 when the interiorsensors 202 capture inconsistent data within the same vehicle. That is,the captured data for interior sensors 202 within the same vehicleshould generally be reasonably consistent, so deviations from suchconsistency may indicate that the data from one or more of the interiorsensors 202 may be compromised and will not yield accurate results whenanalyzed to detect or identify vehicle operator activity or behavior.For example, if the data captured by an interior motion sensor 202within the vehicle indicates motion over a certain period of time (e.g.,from 3:00 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.), but a series of images captured by aninterior image sensor 202 within the same vehicle indicate no movementduring that same period of time, the data captured by one or more of theinterior sensors 202 may be compromised. As another example, if oneinterior sensor 202 captures a different temperature than anotherinterior sensor 202 within the same vehicle (e.g., one sensor indicatesa temperature of 50 degrees while the other sensor indicates atemperature of 80 degrees) at the same time, the data from one or moreof the sensors may be compromised. Similarly, if one interior sensor 202captures a higher or lower electromagnetic radiation level than otherinterior sensors 202 within the same vehicle at the same time, the datafrom one or more of the interior sensors 202 may be compromised.Additionally or alternatively, if an interior sensor 202 captures dataindicating that one or more power source (e.g., a plug or a battery) ismissing, discharged, or otherwise not providing power to the sensor 202,that may also be an indication the interior sensor data may becompromised (e.g., if the sensor captures no data during apower-disabled period, or if the sensor activates a power-saving modeand captures less data). Of course, additional or alternative means maybe envisioned for analyzing interior sensor data to determinate anindication that an activity of the vehicle operator either cannot besufficiently detected or cannot be sufficiently identified using thedata captured by the one or more interior sensors.

Based on the determination (216) of the indication that an activity ofthe vehicle operator either cannot be sufficiently detected or cannot besufficiently identified using the data captured by the one or moreinterior sensors 202, the electronic device 204 may record (218) a dateand/or time of the indication. Additionally or alternatively, theelectronic device may identify (220) an operator of the vehicle at thedate/time of the indication. This identification may be useful fordistinguishing between multiple drivers on an insurance policy, ormultiple family members who operate the same vehicle, for instance. Theidentification of the operator may be based on an analysis of theinterior sensor data 202 at the date/time of the indication. Forinstance, data detected by an interior image sensor 202 may be analyzedby the electronic device 204 to identify facial features of an operatorassociated with the indication. In other embodiments, the electronicdevice 204 may identify the operator based on login credentials enteredinto the electronic device prior to the indication, or by any othersuitable indication of operator identification.

The electronic device 204 may diagnose (222) a possible cause of theindication that the activity of the vehicle operator either cannot besufficiently detected or cannot be sufficiently identified using thedata captured by the one or more interior sensors 202. The diagnosis ofa possible cause may be based on one such indication, or it may be basedon a trend of such indications associated with a particular vehicle orvehicle operator. To match an indication with a possible cause, theelectronic device may access a database containing indications that theactivity or behavior of the vehicle operator either cannot besufficiently detected or cannot be sufficiently identified using thecaptured data, along with corresponding possible causes. For instance,if the determined indication is that all points within the scopedetected by an image sensor 202 contain the same depth, the possiblecause may be that a photograph of the interior of the vehicle has beenplaced in front of the image sensor in order to “spoof” it. That is,while the data detected by the image sensor 202 may appear correct insome ways, the depth of the various known fixtures within the vehiclemay be detected incorrectly. In this example, the database might have anentry: “all points within scope same depth” corresponds with “photoblocking sensor.”

In another example, if the indication is that an abnormally low amountof light is detected by an interior sensor 202, the possible cause maybe that a towel or cloth may be draped over the sensor 202. The databasemay include an entry: “very low light” corresponds with “towel oversensor.” In another instance, if the indication is that the sensor 202has not captured all data that should be within its scope (i.e., somedata that should be captured may not have been captured), the possiblecause may be that the sensor 202 is obfuscated in some way. Similarly,if the indication is that the sensor 202 has captured data within itsentire scope but the resolution of the data is low (e.g., if imageresolution is low for image captured by image sensors), the possiblecause for the indication may be that fog or some other water damage hasimpacted the functionality of the sensor 202. In still other examples,if the indication is that the electronic device 204 or any of thesensors 202 have been unplugged, a battery has been removed, or a powersource has otherwise been disconnected, the possible cause may be thatan operator has been intentionally disabling system power. Of course,the foregoing are simply examples, and additional or alternativeindications of compromised data, and/or corresponding possible causesfor such indications, may be envisioned.

The electronic device 204 may generate (224) a notification indicatingthat the activity or behavior of the vehicle operator either cannot besufficiently detected or cannot be sufficiently identified using thedata captured by the one or more interior sensors, and/or the possiblecause diagnosed at step 222. The notification may be displayed to, forinstance, the vehicle operator or an insurance provider of the vehicleoperator. The notification may be displayed on a user interface asdiscussed below with respect to FIGS. 3A and 3B.

The notification may be classified by a level of alert (e.g., yellowalert, red alert). In particular, the level of alert may be based on theseverity of the compromised data or by the number of indications ofcompromised data. For instance, if no activity of a vehicle operator canbe detected by analyzing the data captured by the one or more interiorsensors 202, the sensor data may be severely compromised, resulting in ared alert, while if an activity of a vehicle operator can be detectedbut cannot not identified, the sensor data may be only somewhatcompromised, resulting in a yellow alert. As another example, if for agiven vehicle operator there have been many indications (e.g., tenindications) over a period of time (e.g., one day) that theactivity/behavior of the vehicle operator either cannot be sufficientlydetected or cannot be sufficiently identified using the data captured bythe one or more interior sensors, a red alert may result, while if overa period of time (e.g., one day) there have been only a small number ofsuch indications (e.g., two notifications) of compromised interiorsensor data for the operator or vehicle, a yellow alert may result. Inother embodiments, the alert level may be elevated based on thefrequency of a particular possible cause of compromised interior sensordata for a particular vehicle or vehicle operator (e.g., manyindications of compromised sensor data with a possible cause of “towelover sensor” for a given vehicle operator may increase the alert levelfrom yellow to red). Of course, there may be any number of alert levels,with degree indicated by color, number, or any other suitable indicationof degree, or there may be no alert level indicated in the notification.

The notification may include an option for a vehicle operator tocomment, via a user interface, on the indication of compromised dataand/or the possible cause diagnosed and indicated in the notification.For instance, if the diagnosed possible cause is that the sensor 202 isunplugged, the operator may have the option to comment that the sensor202 had become unplugged accidentally (e.g., not intentionally). Inanother instance, if the diagnosed cause is that there is somethingobfuscating the sensor 202, the operator may comment that there is notin fact something obfuscating the sensor 202, i.e., the sensor 202 maybe broken. In other examples, external heat or weather may affect thedata captured by the sensor 202, and the operator may note that in acomment. The comment may be transmitted to an insurance provider, andinsurance premiums and/or discounts may be adjusted accordingly.

The electronic device 204 may generate (226) an indication of arecommendation for the operator. The generated indication/recommendationmay be displayed with the generated notification, or separately, and maybe displayed on a user interface, e.g., the user interfaces discussedwith respect to FIGS. 3A and 3B. In particular, a generated indicationof the recommendation may correspond with a possible cause, and to matcha possible cause with a generated recommendation, the electronic devicemay access a database containing possible causes along with generatedrecommendations. For example, if the diagnosed cause is that somethingmay be obfuscating part of the scope of the sensor 202, the generatedrecommendation may be for the operator to remove whatever may beobfuscating the scope of the sensor 202. As another example, if thediagnosed cause is that the sensor 202 is unplugged, the generatedrecommendation may for the operator to plug the sensor 202 back in. Asan additional example, if the diagnosed cause is that there is fogcovering the sensor 202, the generated recommendation may be for theoperator to wipe the fog from the sensor 202. A vehicle operator mayhave the option to comment on the recommendation via the user interface,as discussed above with respect to commenting on the notification.

The electronic device may generate (228) a log. The log may includeinformation such as the indication that the behavior of the vehicleoperator either cannot be sufficiently detected or cannot besufficiently identified using the data captured by the one or moreinterior sensors 202, the time and date associated with the indication,the operator or vehicle associated with the indication, the possiblecause, any notifications, indications and/or recommendations generated,severity level, any comments submitted by the vehicle operator, or anyother relevant information. Additionally, information from the log(e.g., frequency of logged indications of compromised data, frequentpossible causes, etc.) may be accessed when generating notifications forsubsequent identifications of indications of compromised data, e.g., thelog may accessed to determine trends when generating an alert level asdiscussed above.

The electronic device may transmit (230) the log to the server 206,which may store (232) the log. The stored log may subsequently betransmitted from the server back to the electronic device in certainembodiments. Additionally, the log may be accessed by stakeholders,e.g., vehicle operators, vehicle owners, or insurance providers. Datastored in the log may be useful for insurance providers, and insurancepremiums and/or discounts may be adjusted based on data stored in thelog.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate interfaces including example notifications.An electronic device (e.g., a mobile device, such as a smartphone) maybe configured to display the interfaces and/or receive selections andinputs via the interfaces, where the electronic device may be associatedwith an operator of a vehicle, or may be integrated into the vehicle.For example, a dedicated application that is configured to operate onthe electronic device may display the interfaces. It should beappreciated that the interfaces are merely examples and that alternativeor additional content is envisioned.

FIG. 3A illustrates an interface 302 that includes a notice indicatingthat the activity/behavior of the vehicle operator either cannot besufficiently detected or cannot be sufficiently identified using thedata captured by the one or more interior sensors, an alert level, and adiagnosed cause. While FIG. 3A depicts a “YELLOW ALERT,” indicating apossible oddity, other embodiments might include a “RED ALERT”indicating a higher severity trend. Of course, any number of alertlevels may be included in various embodiments. The interface 302 furtherindicates a generated suggestion or recommendation for a correctiveaction for the operator based on the diagnosed cause. As shown in thisexample, the diagnosed cause is that there is fog covering the sensor,so the interface 302 includes a recommendation to wipe the fog from thesensor. In other instances, if the diagnosed cause is somethingobfuscating part of the scope of the sensor, the interface 302 mayinclude a recommendation to remove whatever may be obfuscating the scopeof the sensor. As another example, if the diagnosed cause is that thesensor is unplugged, the interface 302 may include a recommendation toplug the sensor back in. The interface 302 includes an “OK” selection304 that enables the vehicle operator to dismiss the interface 302.

FIG. 3B illustrates an interface 306 that that may proceed frominterface 302 when a user selects “OK” (304). Interface 306 includes acomment box 308 that enables the vehicle operator to input a commentregarding the compromised sensor data. For instance, if the diagnosedcause is that the sensor is unplugged, the operator may comment that thesensor had become unplugged accidentally. In another instance, if thediagnosed cause is that there is something obfuscating the sensor, theoperator may comment that there is not in fact something obfuscating thesensor, so the sensor must be broken (in order to appeal the diagnosedcause). In still another instance, the operator may comment that he orshe has implemented a recommendation such as the recommendation shown ininterface 304. The interface 304 includes an “OK” selection 310 thatenables the user to upload a comment and/or dismiss the interface 304.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram associated with technologyfor detecting onboard sensor tampering. The method 400 may befacilitated by an electronic device. The electronic device may supportexecution of a dedicated application that may facilitate thefunctionalities of the method 400. Further, the electronic device mayenable the user to make various selections and facilitate variousfunctionalities.

The method may begin by receiving (block 402) data captured by one ormore interior sensors within a vehicle. In embodiments, the one or moresensors may be the same type of sensor or different types of sensors.The data captured by the interior sensors may be analyzed (block 404) todetermine an indication that an activity or behavior of the vehicleoperator either cannot be sufficiently detected or cannot besufficiently identified using the captured data. For instance, anactivity/behavior of the vehicle operator may be detected but notidentified. In particular, a general motion or gesture indicating abehavior of the vehicle operator may be detected, but may not besufficiently identified. When the behavior of the vehicle operatoreither cannot be sufficiently detected or cannot be sufficientlyidentified using the captured data, this may be an indication that asensor has been abused or misused, or is otherwise inoperable.

In embodiments, the analysis of data captured by the one or moreinterior sensors to determine an indication that the activity of avehicle operator either cannot be sufficiently detected or cannot besufficiently identified may include analyzing the data captured by theone or more interior sensors by a processor to detect an activity of avehicle operator. For instance, an activity may be a motion, gesture orbehavior by the vehicle operator, or a sound made by a vehicle operator.The analysis may further include determining one or more possibleidentifications of the detected activity. Determining one or morepossible identifications of the detected activity may be based onmatching the captured data to database entries indicating various typesof vehicle operator behaviors. For instance, captured image data mayindicate movement of the vehicle operator and a mobile device proximateto the vehicle operator. Possible identifications of the detectedbehavior may be that the vehicle operator is texting using the mobiledevice, or that the vehicle operator is having a telephone conversationusing the mobile device. The analysis may further include, however,determining that based on an analysis of the detected activity there isa low statistical confidence value (e.g., below a certain thresholdvalue) or a high statistical error value (e.g., above a certainthreshold value) for each of the one or more possible identifications ofdetected behavior. That is, a probability function associated with thepossible identifications of the behavior may not indicate a sufficientlyhigh probability of any of the possible identifications.

In other embodiments, an analysis of data captured by the one or moreinterior sensors to determine an indication that the activity/behaviorof a vehicle operator either cannot be sufficiently detected or cannotbe sufficiently identified may include receiving an indication that thevehicle is in motion but determining via an analysis of the captureddata that no operator activity can be detected during some period oftime while the vehicle is in motion. That is, when a vehicle is inmotion, an assumption may be that there should be at least some activityby a vehicle operator—for instance, a behavior of steering the vehicle.Thus, if an analysis of captured interior sensor data indicates that novehicle operator behavior is detected over a period of time (e.g., 15minutes) while the vehicle is in motion, this may indicate that vehicleoperator activity is occurring but has not been sufficiently detectedusing the captured sensor data for some reason (e.g., the interiorsensor may have been abused, misused, tampered with, or may be otherwiseinoperable).

In a similar embodiment, an analysis of data captured by the one or moreinterior sensors to determine an indication that the activity/behaviorof a vehicle operator either cannot be sufficiently detected or cannotbe sufficiently identified may include receiving an indication that thevehicle is in motion but determining that no movement is indicated by aseries of images captured during a period of time while the vehicle isin motion. That is, when a vehicle is in motion, an assumption may bethat there should be at least some movement captured by interior imagesensors within the vehicle—for instance, movement of the steering wheel,or movement of the outside surroundings visible through vehicle windows.Thus, if an analysis of captured image sensor data indicates no movementduring a period of time (e.g., 15 minutes) while the vehicle is inmotion, this may indicate that the sensor may have been tampered with oris otherwise inoperable, and that the behavior of the vehicle operatorcannot be sufficiently detected using the captured sensor data.

In another aspect, an analysis of data captured by the one or moreinterior sensors to determine an indication that the activity orbehavior of a vehicle operator either cannot be sufficiently detected orcannot be sufficiently identified may include determining that the datacaptured by one or more of the interior sensors indicates a temperaturegreater than a certain threshold temperature. For instance, thethreshold temperature may be a threshold temperature for sensorfunctionality (e.g., over 80 degrees the sensor will not capture dataaccurately). If the temperature captured by the sensor exceeds thatthreshold, for instance, the sensor may be incapable of capturing datathat may be accurately analyzed to sufficiently detect or identify avehicle operator behavior. Additionally or alternatively, the thresholdtemperature may be a threshold temperature for comfortable human driving(e.g., over 90 degrees a human may be uncomfortable driving a vehicle).If the temperature captured by the sensor exceeds that threshold whilethe vehicle is in motion, for instance, the high temperature may be anindication that the sensor is overheated due to some kind of tampering(e.g., covering the sensor with a cloth, causing it to overheat due tocloth in proximity to electronic components) and not because the vehicleinterior is actually overheated (e.g., because a vehicle operator wouldlikely take steps to cool a vehicle down if driving was uncomfortable).In a similar embodiment, determining an indication that the behavior ofa vehicle operator either cannot be sufficiently detected or cannot besufficiently identified may include determining that the data capturedby the one or more interior sensors indicates a temperature differencebetween two of the interior sensors greater than a certain threshold.For instance, if the temperature captured by one sensor is differentfrom the temperature captured by another sensor in the same vehicle by acertain amount (e.g., 15 degrees different), this may indicate that oneof the sensors is overheated due to some kind of misuse (e.g., coveringone sensor with a cloth but not another). In some instances, suchtampering and/or misuse of interior sensors may render the interiorsensors incapable of capturing data from which the activity of a vehicleoperator may be detected or identified.

Additionally or alternatively, determining an indication that theactivity or behavior of a vehicle operator either cannot be sufficientlydetected or cannot be sufficiently identified may include determiningthat the data captured by one or more of the interior sensors indicatesa level of electromagnetic radiation higher than a certain highthreshold or lower than a certain low threshold. For instance, if thelevel of electromagnetic radiation (e.g., light, infrared, etc.)captured by an interior sensor is lower than a certain low threshold,this may indicate that the sensor has been blocked in some way (e.g., acloth has been draped over the sensor, a piece of paper has been tapedover the sensor, etc.), which may indicate tampering, misuse, or abuseof the sensor. As another example, if the level of electromagneticradiation captured by an interior sensor is higher than a certain highthreshold, this may indicate that the sensor has been adjusted from itsoriginal position (e.g., facing a vehicle operator) to face a lightsource (e.g., the sun, a light in the vehicle), which may indicatetampering, misuse, or abuse of the sensor. Additionally oralternatively, if the electromagnetic radiation captured by one sensoris different from that captured by another sensor by a certain thresholdamount, this may indicate that one of the sensors has been coveredand/or adjusted (e.g., covering one sensor but not another). In someexamples, such tampering and/or misuse of interior sensors may renderthe interior sensors incapable of capturing data from which the behaviorof a vehicle operator may be sufficiently detected or identified.

In some embodiments, determining an indication that the activity orbehavior of a vehicle operator either cannot be sufficiently detected orcannot be sufficiently identified may include analyzing images capturedby the one or more interior image sensors to determine that one or moreof the captured images indicate an image resolution below a certainthreshold. For instance, if the captured images have a low imageresolution (e.g., the images are blurry), the sensors may be incapableof capturing data from which the behavior of a vehicle operator may besufficiently detected or identified.

In embodiments, the interior sensors may have both a main source ofpower (e.g., a plug) and a backup source of power (e.g., a battery). Insuch embodiments, determining an indication that the activity/behaviorof a vehicle operator either cannot be sufficiently detected or cannotbe sufficiently identified may include receiving an indication thateither the main source of power or the backup source of power has beendisabled. The indication that the main source of power has been disabledmay be received from, for instance, a mechanism on the sensor hardwareindicating whether the sensor is plugged in to a vehicle power port(e.g., a mechanical spring loaded mechanism that is activated when aplug is unplugged). When the main source of power is disabled, thebackup power source may allow the sensor to continue to capture data,and vice versa. However, when a sensor power source is disabled (e.g., avehicle operator intentionally unplugs a sensor), this may be anindication of sensor misuse, abuse, and/or tampering. In some examples,such tampering and/or misuse of interior sensors may render the interiorsensors incapable of capturing data from which the activity of a vehicleoperator may be sufficiently detected or identified. For instance, apower saving mode may be activated when one power source is disabled,and in such embodiments, the capability of a sensor to accuratelycapture data from which the behavior of a vehicle operator may besufficiently detected or identified may be reduced. The number of timesthat a sensor power source is disabled over a period of time (e.g.,sensor unplugged 10 times in one day), and/or the dates/times that suchdisablings occur (e.g., sensor unplugged on December 10^(th) at 1:15p.m.) may be recorded. Additionally or alternatively, the time between adisabling and enabling of a main power source or a backup power source(e.g., sensor disabled for 30 minutes) for a certain sensor may berecorded.

At block 406, a date and/or a time associated with the indication thatthe activity or behavior of the vehicle operator either cannot besufficiently detected or cannot be sufficiently identified may berecorded. At block 408, an operator of the vehicle, associated with theindication that the behavior of the vehicle operator either cannot besufficiently detected or cannot be sufficiently identified, may beidentified. The operator of the vehicle may be identified based on datacaptured by one or more of the interior sensors. For instance, an imagesensor may capture an image of the operator, which may be used toidentify the operator (e.g., using a facial recognition analysis). Inother embodiments, a microphone sensor may capture the voice of theoperator to be used for identification. In still other embodiments, theoperator may be identified based on log-in credentials, such as a username and password, or fingerprint, captured by the electronic device foruse during a period in which the indication occurs (e.g., vehicleoperator logs in using unique credentials at 3:00 p.m., indicationoccurs at 3:15, no other log-ins between 3:00 and 3:15). Of course,additional or alternative ways to identify the operator of the vehiclemay be implemented.

At block 410, a possible cause may be diagnosed for the indication thatthe activity/behavior of the vehicle operator either cannot besufficiently detected or cannot be sufficiently identified. The possiblecause may be diagnosed based the data detected by one interior sensor orit may be based on the data detected by various of such interiorsensors. Additionally, the possible cause may be diagnosed based on oneindication that the activity of the vehicle operator cannot besufficiently detected or cannot be sufficiently identified, or it may bebased on a trend of such indications. The electronic device may access adatabase containing possible causes for various types of suchindications in order to diagnose the possible cause, and may match thecaptured interior sensor data with a possible cause listed in thedatabase.

At block 412, a notification may be generated indicating either that theactivity/behavior of the vehicle operator cannot be sufficientlydetected or cannot be sufficiently identified, or indicating thediagnosed possible cause. The notification may be displayed to a vehicleoperator on a user interface of the electronic device. In particular,the notification may include an alert or warning related to the severityof the indication, the frequency of such indications, or any othersuitable factor. Additionally or alternatively, the notification may bedisplayed to one or more stakeholder of the vehicle operator, such as aninsurance provider. At block 414, an indication of a recommendation maybe generated for the vehicle operator based the possible cause diagnosedfor the indication that the behavior of the vehicle operator eithercannot be sufficiently detected or cannot be sufficiently identified.The indication of the recommendation may include a suggested action forthe vehicle operator or passenger to take in order to restore sensorfunctionality. The suggested actions, like the possible causes, may beaccessed from a database connecting suggested actions with possiblecauses.

At block 416, a log may be transmitted including one or more of theindication that the activity/behavior of the vehicle operator eithercannot be sufficiently detected or cannot be sufficiently identified,the date and time, the identity of the vehicle operator, or the possiblecause of the compromised data. The log may be transmitted over a wiredor wireless network to a server, where it may be accessed by, forinstance, an insurance provider. Based on an indication that theactivity of the vehicle operator either cannot be sufficiently detectedor cannot be sufficiently identified, insurance premiums and/ordiscounts issued to vehicle operators based on behaviorsdetected/identified by analyzing captured interior vehicle sensor datamay be adjusted accordingly.

FIG. 5 illustrates a diagram of an exemplary mobile or other electronicdevice 510 (such as one of the electronic devices 110, 115, as discussedwith respect to FIGS. 1A-1B, the electronic devices 156, 158, 160, 162discussed with respect to FIG. 1C and/or the electronic device 202discussed with respect to FIG. 2, for instance) in which thefunctionalities as discussed herein may be implemented. It should beappreciated that the electronic device 510 may be configured to betransported in a vehicle and/or connect to an on-board telematicsplatform of the vehicle, as discussed herein. Further, it should beappreciated that the electronic device 510 may be integrated into anon-board system of the vehicle. In an embodiment, the electronic device510 may also be incorporated in a server, such as the remote server 166as discussed with respect to FIG. 1C.

The electronic device 510 may include a processor 572 as well as amemory 578. The memory 578 may store an operating system 579 capable offacilitating the functionalities as discussed herein as well as a set ofapplications 575 (i.e., machine readable instructions). For example, oneof the set of applications 575 may be an operation assessmentapplication 590 configured to analyze data captured by interior sensors,determine indications that behavior of vehicle operator either cannot besufficiently detected or cannot be sufficiently identified usingcaptured data, diagnose possible causes, facilitate notificationcommunication, etc. It should be appreciated that one or more otherapplications 591 are envisioned.

The processor 572 may interface with the memory 578 to execute theoperating system 579 and the set of applications 575. According to someembodiments, the memory 578 may also include other data 580 that mayinclude any data (e.g., image profile data, telematics data, locationdata, etc.) related to facilitating the functionalities as discussedherein. The memory 578 may include one or more forms of volatile and/ornon-volatile, fixed and/or removable memory, such as read-only memory(ROM), electronic programmable read-only memory (EPROM), random accessmemory (RAM), erasable electronic programmable read-only memory(EEPROM), and/or other hard drives, flash memory, MicroSD cards, andothers.

The electronic device 510 may further include a communication module 577configured to communicate data via one or more networks 592. Accordingto some embodiments, the communication module 577 may include one ormore transceivers (e.g., WWAN, WLAN, and/or WPAN transceivers)functioning in accordance with IEEE standards, 3GPP standards, or otherstandards, and configured to receive and transmit data via one or moreexternal ports 576. Further, the communication module 577 may include ashort-range network component (e.g., an RFID reader) configured forshort-range network communications. For example, the communicationmodule 577 may receive, via the network 592, image data from a set ofimage sensors. For further example, the communication module 577 maytransmit, via the network 592, generated logs to a remote server.

The electronic device 510 may further include a set of sensors 584. Theprocessor 572 and the set of applications 575 may interface with the setof sensors 584 to retrieve and process the corresponding sensor data.The set of sensors 584 may include at least one of: a location module(e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) chip), image sensor,accelerometer, gyrosensor, force sensor, strain gauge, inclinometer,goniometer, ignition sensor, clock, speedometer, torque sensor, throttleposition sensor, gyroscope, compass, yaw rate sensor, tilt sensor,steering angle sensor, brake sensor, and/or other sensors. The set ofsensors may also be configured to detect various conditions of thevehicle operators, including various biometric information, movements,and/or the like. In one particular implementation, the operationassessment application 590 may use various data from the set of sensors584 to facilitate certain functionalities.

The electronic device 510 may further include a user interface 581configured to present information to a user and/or receive inputs fromthe user. As shown in FIG. 5, the user interface 581 may include adisplay screen 582 and I/O components 583 (e.g., ports, capacitive orresistive touch sensitive input panels, keys, buttons, lights, LEDs,speakers, microphones). According to some embodiments, the user mayaccess the electronic device 510 via the user interface 581 to reviewinformation and/or perform other functions. In some embodiments, theelectronic device 510 may perform the functionalities as discussedherein as part of a “cloud” network or may otherwise communicate withother hardware or software components within the cloud to send,retrieve, or otherwise analyze data.

In general, a computer program product in accordance with an embodimentmay include a computer usable storage medium (e.g., standard randomaccess memory (RAM), an optical disc, a universal serial bus (USB)drive, or the like) having computer-readable program code embodiedtherein, wherein the computer-readable program code may be adapted to beexecuted by the processor 572 (e.g., working in connection with theoperating system 579) to facilitate the functions as described herein.In this regard, the program code may be implemented in any desiredlanguage, and may be implemented as machine code, assembly code, bytecode, interpretable source code or the like (e.g., via C, C++, Java,Actionscript, Objective-C, Javascript, CSS, XML). In some embodiments,the computer program product may be part of a cloud network ofresources.

With the foregoing, an insurance customer may opt-in to a rewards,insurance discount, or other type of program. After the insurancecustomer provides their affirmative consent, an insurance providerremote server may collect data from the customer's mobile device, smarthome controller, or other smart devices—such as with the customer'spermission or affirmative consent. The data collected may be related tosmart home functionality (or home occupant preferences or preferenceprofiles), and/or insured assets before (and/or after) aninsurance-related event, including those events discussed elsewhereherein. In return, risk averse insureds, home owners, or home orapartment occupants may receive discounts or insurance cost savingsrelated to home, renters, personal articles, auto, and other types ofinsurance from the insurance provider.

In one aspect, smart or interconnected home data, and/or other data,including the types of data discussed elsewhere herein, may be collectedor received by an insurance provider remote server, such as via director indirect wireless communication or data transmission from a smarthome controller, mobile device, or other customer computing device,after a customer affirmatively consents or otherwise opts-in to aninsurance discount, reward, or other program. The insurance provider maythen analyze the data received with the customer's permission to providebenefits to the customer. As a result, risk averse customers may receiveinsurance discounts or other insurance cost savings based upon data thatreflects low risk behavior and/or technology that mitigates or preventsrisk to (i) insured assets, such as homes, personal belongings, orvehicles, and/or (ii) home or apartment occupants.

Although the following text sets forth a detailed description ofnumerous different embodiments, it should be understood that the legalscope of the invention may be defined by the words of the claims setforth at the end of this patent. The detailed description is to beconstrued as exemplary only and does not describe every possibleembodiment, as describing every possible embodiment would beimpractical, if not impossible. One could implement numerous alternateembodiments, using either current technology or technology developedafter the filing date of this patent, which would still fall within thescope of the claims.

Throughout this specification, plural instances may implementcomponents, operations, or structures described as a single instance.Although individual operations of one or more methods are illustratedand described as separate operations, one or more of the individualoperations may be performed concurrently, and nothing requires that theoperations be performed in the order illustrated. Structures andfunctionality presented as separate components in example configurationsmay be implemented as a combined structure or component. Similarly,structures and functionality presented as a single component may beimplemented as separate components. These and other variations,modifications, additions, and improvements fall within the scope of thesubject matter herein.

Additionally, certain embodiments are described herein as includinglogic or a number of routines, subroutines, applications, orinstructions. These may constitute either software (e.g., code embodiedon a non-transitory, machine-readable medium) or hardware. In hardware,the routines, etc., are tangible units capable of performing certainoperations and may be configured or arranged in a certain manner. Inexample embodiments, one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone,client or server computer system) or one or more hardware modules of acomputer system (e.g., a processor or a group of processors) may beconfigured by software (e.g., an application or application portion) asa hardware module that operates to perform certain operations asdescribed herein.

In various embodiments, a hardware module may be implementedmechanically or electronically. For example, a hardware module maycomprise dedicated circuitry or logic that may be permanently configured(e.g., as a special-purpose processor, such as a field programmable gatearray (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) toperform certain operations. A hardware module may also compriseprogrammable logic or circuitry (e.g., as encompassed within ageneral-purpose processor or other programmable processor) that may betemporarily configured by software to perform certain operations. Itwill be appreciated that the decision to implement a hardware modulemechanically, in dedicated and permanently configured circuitry, or intemporarily configured circuitry (e.g., configured by software) may bedriven by cost and time considerations.

Accordingly, the term “hardware module” should be understood toencompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that is physicallyconstructed, permanently configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarilyconfigured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner or toperform certain operations described herein. Considering embodiments inwhich hardware modules are temporarily configured (e.g., programmed),each of the hardware modules need not be configured or instantiated atany one instance in time. For example, where the hardware modulescomprise a general-purpose processor configured using software, thegeneral-purpose processor may be configured as respective differenthardware modules at different times. Software may accordingly configurea processor, for example, to constitute a particular hardware module atone instance of time and to constitute a different hardware module at adifferent instance of time.

Hardware modules may provide information to, and receive informationfrom, other hardware modules. Accordingly, the described hardwaremodules may be regarded as being communicatively coupled. Where multipleof such hardware modules exist contemporaneously, communications may beachieved through signal transmission (e.g., over appropriate circuitsand buses) that connect the hardware modules. In embodiments in whichmultiple hardware modules are configured or instantiated at differenttimes, communications between such hardware modules may be achieved, forexample, through the storage and retrieval of information in memorystructures to which the multiple hardware modules have access. Forexample, one hardware module may perform an operation and store theoutput of that operation in a memory device to which it may becommunicatively coupled. A further hardware module may then, at a latertime, access the memory device to retrieve and process the storedoutput. Hardware modules may also initiate communications with input oroutput devices, and may operate on a resource (e.g., a collection ofinformation).

The various operations of example methods described herein may beperformed, at least partially, by one or more processors that aretemporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured toperform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanentlyconfigured, such processors may constitute processor-implemented modulesthat operate to perform one or more operations or functions. The modulesreferred to herein may, in some example embodiments, compriseprocessor-implemented modules.

Similarly, the methods or routines described herein may be at leastpartially processor-implemented. For example, at least some of theoperations of a method may be performed by one or more processors orprocessor-implemented hardware modules. The performance of certain ofthe operations may be distributed among the one or more processors, notonly residing within a single machine, but deployed across a number ofmachines. In some example embodiments, the processor or processors maybe located in a single location (e.g., within a home environment, anoffice environment, or as a server farm), while in other embodiments theprocessors may be distributed across a number of locations.

The performance of certain of the operations may be distributed amongthe one or more processors, not only residing within a single machine,but deployed across a number of machines. In some example embodiments,the one or more processors or processor-implemented modules may belocated in a single geographic location (e.g., within a homeenvironment, an office environment, or a server farm). In other exampleembodiments, the one or more processors or processor-implemented modulesmay be distributed across a number of geographic locations.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, discussions herein using wordssuch as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,”“presenting,” “displaying,” or the like may refer to actions orprocesses of a machine (e.g., a computer) that manipulates or transformsdata represented as physical (e.g., electronic, magnetic, or optical)quantities within one or more memories (e.g., volatile memory,non-volatile memory, or a combination thereof), registers, or othermachine components that receive, store, transmit, or displayinformation.

As used herein any reference to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment”means that a particular element, feature, structure, or characteristicdescribed in connection with the embodiment may be included in at leastone embodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” invarious places in the specification are not necessarily all referring tothe same embodiment.

The terms “insurer,” “insuring party,” and “insurance provider” are usedinterchangeably herein to generally refer to a party or entity (e.g., abusiness or other organizational entity) that provides insuranceproducts, e.g., by offering and issuing insurance policies. Typically,but not necessarily, an insurance provider may be an insurance company.

As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “may include,”“including,” “has,” “having” or any other variation thereof, areintended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process,method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is notnecessarily limited to only those elements but may include otherelements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method,article, or apparatus. Further, unless expressly stated to the contrary,“or” refers to an inclusive or and not to an exclusive or. For example,a condition A or B is satisfied by any one of the following: A is true(or present) and B is false (or not present), A is false (or notpresent) and B is true (or present), and both A and B are true (orpresent).

In addition, use of the “a” or “an” are employed to describe elementsand components of the embodiments herein. This is done merely forconvenience and to give a general sense of the description. Thisdescription, and the claims that follow, should be read to include oneor at least one and the singular also may include the plural unless itis obvious that it is meant otherwise.

This detailed description is to be construed as examples and does notdescribe every possible embodiment, as describing every possibleembodiment would be impractical, if not impossible. One could implementnumerous alternate embodiments, using either current technology ortechnology developed after the filing date of this application.

What is claimed:
 1. A computer-implemented method in an electronicdevice for identifying interior automobile sensor tampering, the methodcomprising: capturing data by one or more interior sensors within anautomobile, wherein the one or more interior sensors within theautomobile include one or more of: an image sensor, a temperaturesensor, an electromagnetic radiation sensor, a sound sensor, anacceleration sensor, or a velocity sensor; analyzing, by a processorconfigured to detect and identify an activity of an automobile operator,the data captured by the one or more interior sensors to determine anindication that the activity of the automobile operator either cannot bedetected or cannot be identified using the data captured by the one ormore interior sensors; recording a date and time associated with theindication that the activity of the automobile operator either cannot bedetected or cannot be identified; identifying, by the processor, theautomobile operator associated with the indication that the activity ofthe automobile operator either cannot be detected or cannot beidentified; diagnosing, by the processor, a possible cause of theindication that the activity of the automobile operator either cannot bedetected or cannot be identified, wherein diagnosing includesdetermining, based at least on a mechanical spring loaded mechanism thatis activated when a plug is unplugged, that one or more of a main sourceof power or a backup source of power for one or more of the interiorsensors has been disabled; generating one or more of a notification thatthe activity of the automobile operator cannot be detected oridentified, or a notification indicating the possible cause; generatingan indication for the automobile operator based on the possible cause;transmitting, to a server, a log of one or more of the indication thatthe activity of the automobile operator either cannot be detected orcannot be identified, the date and time, the identity of the automobileoperator, or the possible cause.
 2. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 1, wherein analyzing the data captured by the one or more interiorsensors to determine an indication that the activity of the automobileoperator either cannot be detected or cannot be identified using thedata captured by the one or more interior sensors comprises: analyzing,by the processor, the data captured by the one or more interior sensorsto detect an activity of the automobile operator; determining, by theprocessor, one or more possible identifications of the detected activityof the automobile operator; determining, based on analysis of thedetected activity, a low statistical confidence value or a highstatistical error value for each of the one or more possibleidentifications of the detected activity, wherein a low statisticalconfidence value is a statistical confidence value below a thresholdstatistical confidence value, and a high statistical error value is astatistical error value above a threshold statistical error value. 3.The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein analyzing the datacaptured by the one or more interior sensors to determine an indicationthat the activity of the automobile operator either cannot be detectedor cannot be identified using the data captured by the one or moreinterior sensors comprises: receiving, by the processor, an indicationthat the automobile is in motion; analyzing, by the processor, the datacaptured by the one or more interior sensors; and determining that nooperator activity can be detected during a period of time while theautomobile is in motion.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3,wherein the data captured by the one or more interior sensors includesimage data, and wherein determining that no operator activity can bedetected during a period of time while the automobile is in motioncomprises: analyzing, by the processor, the image data captured by theone or more interior sensors to determine that no movement is indicatedby a series of images captured during a period of time while theautomobile is in motion.
 5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1,wherein the data captured by the one or more interior sensors includestemperature data, and wherein analyzing the data captured by the one ormore interior sensors to determine an indication that the activity ofthe automobile operator either cannot be detected or cannot beidentified using the data captured by the one or more interior sensorscomprises: determining that the data captured by one or more of theinterior sensors indicates a temperature greater than a thresholdtemperature, or determining that the data captured by the one or moreinterior sensors indicates a temperature difference between two of theinterior sensors greater than a threshold temperature difference.
 6. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the data captured by theone or more interior sensors includes electromagnetic radiation data,and wherein analyzing the data captured by the one or more interiorsensors to determine an indication that the activity of the automobileoperator either cannot be detected or cannot be identified using thedata captured by the one or more interior sensors comprises: determiningthat the data captured by one or more of the interior sensors indicatesa level of electromagnetic radiation higher than a certain highthreshold; determining that the data captured by one or more of theinterior sensors indicates a level of electromagnetic radiation lowerthan a certain low threshold; or determining that the data captured bythe one or more interior sensors indicates an electromagnetic radiationlevel difference between two of the interior sensors greater than athreshold electromagnetic radiation level difference.
 7. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the data captured by theone or more interior sensors includes image data, and wherein analyzingthe data captured by the one or more interior sensors to determine anindication that the activity of the automobile operator either cannot bedetected or cannot be identified using the data captured by the one ormore interior sensors comprises: analyzing, by the processor, the imagescaptured by the one or more interior image sensors to determine that oneor more captured images indicate an image resolution below a thresholdimage resolution value.
 8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1,wherein diagnosing, by the processor, the possible cause of theindication that the activity of the automobile operator either cannot bedetected or cannot be identified comprises: accessing a databaseincluding indications that the activity of the automobile operatoreither cannot be detected or cannot be identified using the datacaptured by the one or more interior sensors, and at least onecorresponding possible cause for each indication; and identifying thepossible cause corresponding to the indication determined by theprocessor.
 9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein thedata captured by the one or more interior sensors includes data capturedby one or more interior image sensors or data captured by one or moreinterior microphone, and wherein identifying, by the processor, anautomobile operator associated with the indication that the activity ofthe automobile operator either cannot be detected or cannot beidentified comprises one or more of: analyzing, by the processor, thedata detected by one or more of the interior image sensors to identifythe automobile operator at the time of the indication that the activityof the automobile operator either cannot be detected or cannot beidentified, identifying the automobile operator associated with a mostrecent login credential provided to an electronic device associated withthe automobile at the time of the indication that the activity of theautomobile operator either cannot be detected or cannot be identified,or identifying the automobile operator associated with a most recentvoice recorded by the interior microphone at the time of the indicationthat the activity of the automobile operator either cannot be detectedor cannot be identified.
 10. An electronic device configured to identifyinterior automobile sensor tampering, comprising: one or more interiorsensors within an automobile, including one or more of: an image sensor,a temperature sensor, an electromagnetic radiation sensor, a soundsensor, an acceleration sensor, or a velocity sensor; a transceiverconfigured to communicate data via at least one network connection; amemory configured to store non-transitory computer executableinstructions; a processor configured to interface with the transceiverand the memory, and configured to execute the non-transitory computerexecutable instructions to cause the processor to: receive data capturedby the one or more interior sensors within an automobile; analyze thedata captured by the one or more interior sensors to determine anindication that the activity of the automobile operator either cannot bedetected or cannot be identified using the data captured by the one ormore interior sensors; record a date and time associated with theindication that the activity of the automobile operator either cannot bedetected or cannot be identified; identify the automobile operatorassociated with the indication that the activity of the automobileoperator either cannot be detected or cannot be identified; diagnose apossible cause of the indication that the activity of the automobileoperator either cannot be detected or cannot be identified, whereindiagnosing includes determining, based at least on a mechanical springloaded mechanism that is activated when a plug is unplugged, that one ormore of a main source of power or a backup source of power for one ormore of the interior sensors has been disabled; generate one or more ofa notification that the activity of the automobile operator eithercannot be detected or cannot be identified, or a notification indicatingthe possible cause; generate an indication for the automobile operatorbased on the possible cause; transmit, to a server, a log of one or moreof the indication that the activity of the automobile operator eithercannot be detected or cannot be identified, the date and time, theidentity of the automobile operator, or the possible cause.
 11. Theelectronic device of claim 10, wherein the computer executableinstructions causing the processor to analyze the data captured by theone or more interior sensors to determine an indication that theactivity of the automobile operator either cannot be detected or cannotbe identified using the data captured by the one or more interiorsensors, cause the processor to: analyze the data captured by the one ormore interior sensors to detect an activity of the automobile operator;determine one or more possible identifications of the detected activityof the automobile operator; determine, based on analysis of the detectedactivity, a low statistical confidence value or a high statistical errorvalue for each of the one or more possible identifications of thedetected activity, wherein a low statistical confidence value is astatistical confidence value below a threshold statistical confidencevalue, and a high statistical error value is a statistical error valueabove a threshold statistical error value.
 12. The electronic device ofclaim 10, wherein the computer executable instructions causing theprocessor to analyze the data captured by the one or more interiorsensors to determine an indication that the activity of the automobileoperator either cannot be detected or cannot be identified using thedata captured by the one or more interior sensors, further cause theprocessor to: receive an indication that the automobile is in motion;analyze the data captured by the one or more interior sensors; anddetermine that no operator activity can be detected during a period oftime while the automobile is in motion.
 13. The electronic device ofclaim 12, wherein the data captured by the one or more interior sensorsincludes data captured by one or more interior image sensors, andwherein the computer executable instructions causing the processor todetermine that no operator activity can be detected during a period oftime while the automobile is in motion, further cause the processor to:analyze the data captured by the one or more interior image sensors todetermine that no movement is indicated by a series of images capturedduring a period of time while the automobile is in motion.
 14. Theelectronic device of claim 10, wherein the data captured by the one ormore interior sensors includes data captured by one or more interiortemperature sensors, and wherein the computer executable instructionscausing the processor to analyze the data captured by the one or moreinterior sensors to determine an indication that the activity of theautomobile operator either cannot be detected or cannot be identifiedusing the data captured by the one or more interior sensors, furthercause the processor to: determine that the data captured by one or moreof the interior sensors indicates a temperature greater than a thresholdtemperature, or determine that the data captured by the one or moreinterior sensors indicates a temperature difference between two of theinterior sensors greater than a threshold temperature difference. 15.The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the data captured by the oneor more interior sensors includes data captured by one or more interiorelectromagnetic radiation sensors, and wherein the computer executableinstructions causing the processor to analyze the data captured by theone or more interior sensors to determine an indication that theactivity of the automobile operator either cannot be detected or cannotbe identified using the data captured by the one or more interiorsensors, further cause the processor to determine that the data capturedby one or more of the interior sensors indicates a level ofelectromagnetic radiation higher than a certain high threshold;determine that the data captured by one or more of the interior sensorsindicates a level of electromagnetic radiation lower than a certain lowthreshold; or determine that the data captured by the one or moreinterior sensors indicates an electromagnetic radiation level differencebetween two of the interior sensors greater than a thresholdelectromagnetic radiation level difference.
 16. The electronic device ofclaim 10, wherein the data captured by the one or more interior sensorsincludes data captured by one or more interior image sensors, andwherein the computer executable instructions causing the processor toanalyze the data captured by the one or more interior sensors todetermine an indication that the activity of the automobile operatoreither cannot be detected or cannot be identified using the datacaptured by the one or more interior sensors, further cause theprocessor to: analyze image data captured by the one or more interiorimage sensors to determine that the image data indicates an imageresolution below a threshold image resolution value.
 17. The electronicdevice of claim 10, wherein the computer executable instructions causingthe processor to diagnose the possible cause for the indication that theactivity of the automobile operator either cannot be detected or cannotbe identified using the data captured by the one or more interiorsensors, further cause the processor to: access a database includingindications that the activity of the automobile operator either cannotbe detected or cannot be identified using the data captured by the oneor more interior sensors and at least one corresponding possible causefor each indication; and identify the possible cause corresponding tothe indication determined by the processor.
 18. The electronic device ofclaim 10, wherein the data captured by the one or more interior sensorsincludes data captured by one or more interior image sensors or datacaptured by one or more interior microphone, and wherein the computerexecutable instructions causing the processor to identify the automobileoperator associated with the indication that the activity of theautomobile operator either cannot be detected or cannot be identifiedusing the data captured by the one or more interior sensors, furthercause the processor to: analyze the data detected by one or more of theinterior image sensors to identify the automobile operator at the timeof the indication that the activity of the automobile operator cannot bedetected or cannot be identified, identify the automobile operatorassociated with the most recent login credentials provided to anelectronic device associated with the automobile at the time of theindication that the activity of the automobile operator cannot beidentified, or identify the automobile operator associated with a mostrecent voice recorded by the interior microphone at the time of theindication that the activity of the automobile operator either cannot bedetected or cannot be identified.